Lawmakers Poised To Expand Access To Heroin Reversal Drug

JENNY WILSON

The head of Connecticut's Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services on Wednesday urged legislators to expand access to a heroin reversal drug, two days after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called attention to a rise in opioid overdose deaths and said first responders should carry naloxone, or Narcan, the antidote used to counter the effects of an overdose.

The judiciary committee heard unanimous testimony in support of a measure that would provide immunity to anyone who administers treatment for a drug overdose, which would enable friends, family and first responders to carry and administer the drug without the fear they could be sued for damages if they could notsave the person who overdosed.

DMHAS Commissioner Patricia Rehmer, who described the measure as "one of the most important pieces of legislation this session," cited studies suggesting that 911 is called in overdose situations only half the time.

"The public remains fearful of the implications of involvement in an overdose situation," she said. "People's fears — everything from old warrants to the possibility that the overdose victim's family might sue them if they are not able to revive the person successfully — persist."

Rehmer said the bill would not only allow friends and family to administer the drug but also enable police officers to carry and administer the drug.

In a video posted to the U.S. Justice Department's website, Holder said Monday that the nation's heroin epidemic was an "urgent public health crisis" and launched a push for first responders to carry Narcan. Paramedics in Connecticut carry Narcan, but police do not. First responders in neighboring states — Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts — do carry Narcan.

Connecticut has recorded high rates of heroin overdose deaths over the past decade, and the General Assembly two years ago passed a law that allows medical professionals to provide Narcan to family and friends of loved ones at risk of an overdose. Now, following a sharprise in heroin overdose deaths in the past year, lawmakers appear poised to expand access to that drug.

Narcan is available both in the form of an injection, like an EpiPen used to treat allergies, and as a nasal spray. Those who testified Wednesday told members of the judiciary committee that side effects were minimal and that the drug was safe, effective and easy to administer.

Dr. Peter Rostenberg, a New Fairfield addiction specialist, described naloxone as "the drug of choice for opioid overdoses."

"I know people who come in more or less dead and leave awake," said Rostenberg, who added that the drug had no "street value" and cannot be abused. Though the paramedics across the state who administer naloxone do "good work indeed … it's insufficient to confront this public health problem," Rostenberg said.

Christopher Heneghan, director of an eastern Connecticut organization that works with families and individuals affected by substance abuse, said that in the case of an overdose, "the window of opportunity for a lifesaving intervention closes rapidly, often before EMS is able to respond."

Heneghan, who heads the Windham Harm Reduction Coalition, dismissed concerns he said some policymakers had expressed that expanding access to the drug would condone heroin abuse. Naloxone puts the body into acute withdrawal, and Heneghan said studies show it induces "the same unpleasant symptoms that opioid-dependent individuals are trying to stave off with their opioid use."

"As such, people do not feel more comfortable using opioids more frequently or in higher doses because of naloxone availability," he said.

None of the committee members raised those concerns Wednesday and instead displayed bipartisan support for the proposal in their comments. Rep. Tom O'Dea, R-New Canaan, sponsored the measure; he, along with Rep. Gerald Fox, D-Stamford, has been pushing for its passage.

"This is something we should do as soon as possible. … The heroin epidemic is scary," said O'Dea, who called the measure a "no-brainer."

Rehmer said though some fear possible side effects of naloxone, "there literally are none." She said Narcan first was introduced in the 1980s, as heroin use was on the rise.

"It was used pretty sparsely, and we didn't know as much about it. … The first time I saw it utilized, there was a physician and a nurse in the room because we weren't quite clear what the reaction was going to be," Rehmer said after the hearing. "The knowledge and science has changed tremendously … that's why we were really pushing to get [Narcan] out there more widely."

"Narcan is really a top priority for me because I know it can save lives," Rehmer added. Overdoses are the leading cause of death for young males aged 18 to 25, she said, and her focus to address the high rate is to make the reversal drug more widely available.

"That doesn't mean we don't have to address addiction and all of the other issues," Rehmer said, "but do we really want people dead?"